Lug nuts, in any other case often called lug bolts, have an vital job in your automobile. They maintain the wheel to the tire. Regardless of having no common lug nut dimension, lug nuts are typically comparable in thread depend. There are about 10 thread pitches and sizes that make up lug nuts.

Understanding the distinction between lug nut dimensions and kinds is extraordinarily vital as a result of you will want that data to exchange as soon as if and when misplaced/broken.

Lug Nut Size: Are All Lug Nuts The Similar Size?

This can be the most important false impression of all of them – that lug nuts all have the identical form. Lug nuts will be categorized primarily based on their sizes and thread pitches. The mistaken dimension or thread pitch lug nut can harm a wheel.

You’ll be able to know the thread dimension (thread diameter) of the lug nuts of your automobile through the use of any considered one of these strategies:

• Confer with the proprietor’s guide
• Measure throughout the skin diameter of the wheel stud thread
• Carry a lug to your native ironmongery store and check it on out there bolts
• A thread pitch gauge (will be present in nearly each ironmongery store).

Lug Nut Size: Widespread Lug Nut Size

Essentially the most generally discovered lug nut sizes are:

• 10mm x 1.25
• 12mm x 1.25
• 12mm x 1.50
• 12mm x 1.75
• 14mm x 1.25
• 14mm x 1.50
• 14mm x 2.0
• 7/16″ x 20
• 1/2″ x 20
• 9/16″ x 20

Lug Nut Size: Sockets

Whether or not you utilize a torque wrench, lug wrench, common socket, or an affect socket, you must use the correct dimension to tighten or loosen lug bolt or lug nuts. The socket dimension is often manufacturer-specific however it may possibly change with time. A few of the extra sizes you’ll discover embrace:

• 23 mm
• 22mm (7/8″ matches too)
• 21mm (13/16″ matches too)
• 19mm (3/4″ matches too)
• 17mm

Lug Nut Size: Varieties Of Lug Nuts

There are a number of lug bolts and lug nuts on the market. All eight of the lug nuts have a set of distinct options that make them appropriate/unsuitable for a sure sort of automobile. Many of those are not often discovered exterior the busy business surroundings.

1. Conical Seat

Conical lug nuts, also called acorn lug nuts, are the most typical sort of lug nuts as we speak. The seat often bends inward at a 60-degree angle. Conical lug nuts match completely inside a cone-shaped gap and are very straightforward to work with.

2. Ball Seat

Quite than a cone form, the seat on ball lug nuts is spherical or rounded. As soon as put in, ball lug nuts and conical lug nuts are onerous to distinguish between as they’ve very comparable heads. A bit rarer than conical lug nuts, ball seat lug nuts are usually discovered on particular Volkswagen, Audi, and Honda automobiles.

3. Flat Seat

Because the title would counsel, flat seat lug nuts have a flat seat and resemble washers. Amongst all of the lug nuts out there, flat seated ones are arguably essentially the most troublesome and irritating to work with. Centering them will be somewhat tough as they arrive with a small barrel that’s presupposed to enter the lughole.

If not centered correctly, the stem tends to catch which makes it appear to be the lug nut is fixed although it isn’t. Because the floor space of flat surfaces is greater than others, these lug nuts are extra vulnerable to sticking and will be more durable to take away.

4. Prolonged Thread

An prolonged thread (ET) encompasses a longer thread, just like the common conical lug nut.  That is nice in circumstances the place the mounting floor and the wheel studs’ size don’t permit needed thread engagement for normal lug nuts. 

The longer thread size facilitates engagement to securely connect the wheels and hold them like that.

5. Magazine Seat

That is one other sort of prolonged thread lug that comes with a washer seat as an alternative. It’s primarily utilized in comparable situations the place an extended thread is required. Nonetheless, as an alternative of a tapered, conical backside, they characteristic a flat seat. The washer might or will not be there. Magazine seats was once created from magnesium at one time and thus, the title.

6. Tuner Type

Totally different sorts of aftermarket wheels, notably for Acuras, Hondas, and comparable Asian tuner automobiles, are geared up with smaller diameter holes. On account of this, commonplace conical lug nuts don’t match so there’s a want for narrower, tuner-style lug nuts. A particular tuning secret’s wanted to loosen or tighten these acorn seat tuner lugs. Then, an everyday socket goes on high of the important thing like some other lug nut.

The tuning key is supplied with a set of tuner lug nuts however you may as well buy one individually if the hot button is misplaced. As tuner-style lug nuts have openings within the heart, moisture and air can get to the threads and studs and trigger corrosion. On account of this, tuner-style lug nuts aren’t as standard as a number of the different lug nuts varieties. Spline drive model is a greater various.

7. Spline Drive

Spline drive lug nuts even have a conical seat and use a particular key. The distinction is that instead of a gap within the heart, spline drive lug nuts characteristic slim grooves on the edges and high of the lug nut to carry the important thing. However the issue with corrosion isn’t there in order that’s an enormous plus.

It’s noteworthy that the sample on tuner model and spline drive nuts isn’t distinctive; you may’t use them as a theft deterrent. Alternative keys are available on-line or in auto components shops.

8. Lug Bolt

Used totally on German automobiles resembling Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, and BMW, lug bolt lug nuts include a bolt/stud connected. They’re instantly threaded into the hub via the brake rotor hat.

Why Germans favor bolts to nuts is a query as outdated as time however one clarification could be that it’s cheaper compared to urgent studs right into a rotor meeting in manufacturing. Alternatively, changing a damaged lug nut is less complicated than changing a stud.

No matter it could be, putting in the wheels turns into more durable because you simply can not grasp the wheels whereas the lug nuts are being put in. As a substitute, you must first make sure the rotor plate holes align with the hub holes, then elevate the wheel meeting, and safe it in place whereas the primary few lug bolts are put in. 

There are some strategies you should use to make the duty simpler however no matter every little thing, the method continues to be extra difficult than one with lug nuts.